Tag: Religious freedom

Religious and secular groups unite to declare freedom of belief is a right

June 28, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Europe, Human rights, Religious freedom

If they're not Lutheran, evangelical women in Eritrea have to pray together in secret. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

An alliance of religious and secular charities has launched an online campaign to raise awareness of the right to freedom of religion or belief (FoRB). “Believe it or not, it’s my right!” is the slogan of the movement launched on Tuesday 26 June by the European Platform against Intolerance and Discrimination . . . Read More

China’s ‘underground’ churches told to seek ‘guidance’ from state-approved bodies

June 22, 2018 China Catholics, China, Communism, Henan, House churches, Jiangxi, Religious freedom, Sinicisation, Three-Self Patriotic Movement, Xi Jinping, Zhejiang

A house church meeting in China in 2005. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

A newly implemented directive from the Chinese government forces Protestant ‘house churches’ and Catholic ‘underground’ communities to seek “guidance” from recognised religious organisations. A notification from the State Administration for Religious Affairs, issued earlier this month, requires organisers of religious activities at temporary sites to also apply for a permit . . . Read More

Chinese pastor released after two and a half years in prison

June 20, 2018 China China, Churches, Guizhou, Huoshi Church, Prisons, Religious freedom, Su Tianfu, Yang Hua

A Chinese pastor was released yesterday (19 June), after being detained for two and a half years for “illegally possessing state secrets”, reports Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW). Pastor Yang Hua of Huoshi Church (which means Living Stone), in the south-western province of Guizhou, was arrested in December 2015. He was . . . Read More

Eritrean pastor released after 11 years in prison

June 20, 2018 Eritrea Asmara, Barentu, Eritrea, Prisons, Protestants, Religious freedom

Oqbamichel Haiminot (Release International)

An Evangelical pastor in Eritrea has been released from the notorious Mitire Camp after 11 years of detention without charges, reports Voice of the Martyrs. No reasons have been given for the release of pastor Oqbamichel Haiminot, who was the leader of the Kale Hiwot, or “Word of Life”, church . . . Read More

What churches can do to help victims of sexual violence in conflict to stay ‘part of us’

June 19, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Central African Republic, Children, Iraq, Islamic State, Minorities, Rape, Religious freedom, Seleka, Trauma, UN, USA, Women, Yazidis

Women affected by violence in the Central African Republic, have formed self-help groups in the capital Bangui and run a small shop where they sell their products. (Photo: Open Doors International)

Adrienne* survived a brutal sexual attack during a conflict with ex-Seleka militants in Central African Republic (CAR), only to be ostracised from her own community. Adrienne was alone in her greatest time of need, and the baby born to her nine months later bears the same vulnerabilities, and a label: a . . . Read More

Tunisians protest against closure of cafes and restaurants during Ramadan

June 15, 2018 Tunisia Ahmed Shaheed, Converts, Egypt, Islamic extremism, Ramadan, Religious freedom, Tunisia

People walking in Medina in Sfax, a city on Tunisia's east coast. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

Non-Muslims in Tunisia have taken to the streets during this year’s Ramadan to protest the closure of many cafés and restaurants, saying they can’t be forced to fast, reports the New York Times (NYT). Around 100 protestors began Ramadan this year by drinking water and eating sandwiches in central Tunis in . . . Read More

A ‘dire time for human rights in Russia’ as World Cup begins

June 14, 2018 Russia Crimea, Dagestan, Don Ossewaarde, Football, Human rights, Jehovah's Witnesses, Oryol, Religious freedom, Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, Yarovaya Law

The 2018 FIFA World Cup started today with a kick-off at the Luzhniki stadium in the capital Moscow. (Photo: Sandra Montanez - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

“This is a very dire time for human rights in Russia,” according to the Russia programme director for Human Rights Watch, Tanya Lokshina, speaking ahead of the start of the 2018 Football World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow earlier today. Since Vladimir Putin became Russia’s president again in 2012 . . . Read More

North Koreans ‘betrayed’ by human rights omission in Trump-Kim agreement

June 12, 2018 North Korea Donald Trump, Human rights, International Criminal Court, Kim Hak Song, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea, Prisons, Pyongyang, Religious freedom, USA

After meeting Kim Jong-un in Singapore, US President Donald Trump said the many North Koreans currently being held in forced-labour camps were “one of the great winners today”. (Photo: ANTHONY WALLACE/AFP/Getty Images)

North Koreans were “betrayed” by the failure of US President Donald Trump to include human rights provisions in his agreement with the country’s leader, Kim Jong-un, following their historic meeting in Singapore, according to Human Rights Watch’s Asia Director, Phil Robertson. “The North Korean people have suffered for so long,” . . . Read More

UN rapporteur welcomes Uzbekistan’s religious freedom pledge

June 12, 2018 Uzbekistan Ahmed Shaheed, Human rights, Religious freedom, Urgench, Uzbekistan

Russian Orthodox St. Alexey Cathedral in Samarkand, southeast Uzbekistan. (Photo: World Watch Monitor)

The UN’s Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion of Belief has welcomed Uzbekistan’s pledge to implement the recommendations he made in the wake of a visit there in October last year. Uzbekistan has promised to implement 12 recommendations made by Ahmed Shaheed, and has given a timeline for each one, as well . . . Read More

Ad in Vanity Fair tells #MeToo celebrities of women who suffer for their faith

June 8, 2018 Global News -- No Particular Country Boko Haram, India, Islamic extremism, Islamic State, Italy, Kidnapping, Nigeria, Religious freedom, Women, Yazidis

Rebecca Bitrus was abducted by Boko Haram in 2014 and suffered because of her faith. (Photo credit: Claire Giangravé/Crux news agency)

An ad in the Italian edition of Vanity Fair has called for the global #MeToo campaign to include women who suffer violence because of their religion. The Vanity Fair ad includes an open letter to some of the actresses who spoke out as part of the #MeToo initiative, like Asia . . . Read More

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